Good Comics, Bad Advice and Terrible Fans

I don’t mean he’s a good comedy writer. I don’t mean his show was hilarious. I don’t mean his jokes are great. While all of those things are true, they don’t prove my point. Dave Chappelle is funny.

I saw him Saturday night as the headline act at the Oddball comedy festival. He was the last of 7 big names, following Keith Robinson, Kristen Schaal, Al Madrigal, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman and Flight of the Conchords. With the exception of Schaal, all of them were good. They had good routines full of well crafted and crowd tested jokes. If I had left after seeing those 6, I would have been satisfied that I saw an evening of solid comedy.

Then Dave Chappelle came out and it was a whole other thing. Because Dave Chappelle is funny.

He performed for about an hour. In that time, I think he told a grand total of two pre-written jokes. Otherwise he just talked. And he was fucking hilarious. He talked about his recent controversy at a show in Hartford. (that controversy, where Chappelle got angry at hecklers then essentially refused to perform, prompted these signs all over the venue:)

It really seemed like he was just talking off the top of his head. Very little was pre-planned. And all of it was hilarious. Because while Dave Chappelle is a good joke writer and a good sketch show host, he is an amazing stand up comedian. And the reason is simple. At the most fundamental level possible, Dave Chappelle is funny.

Alan Shipnuck opens up this week’s magazine by golfing with Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry. It’s certainly a unique idea. Though, I’m not sure it was a great one. They didn’t really talk basketball. They talked golf. But Steph Curry, while apparently an excellent golfer, makes his living playing basketball. So, whats the point?

THE ARTICLES:

How To Beat Bama by Lars Anderson

Let me start with this confession. I don’t care how to beat ‘Bama. I don’t watch college football. And I didn’t read this article. But, that being said, I find it a little strange that this piece is billed as a how-to guide for Johnny Football and Co. to beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday. Johnny Manziel is famous because he already beat Alabama last year. That’s how he became a household name and eventually a Heisman winner. He led Texas A&M to an upset victory over Alabama last season. So, he probably doesn’t need Lars Anderson’s advice.

CJ2K The Hard Way by Alan Shipnuck

Shipnuck profiles Chris Johnson, who is trying to come back from the worst year of his career. He seems motivated. The Titans apparently have a better offensive line. I guess we’ll see.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Pete Thamel

This is essentially a photo essay of summer workouts featuring Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose. They all workout with Rob McClanaghan, who sounds like he should be a hockey player from suburban Boston but is actually a basketball player from Rhode Island. An actual full on article may have been interesting here.

A Father’s Faith by Chris Mannix

Its the story of Junior Welterweight champion Danny Garcia and his dad/trainer Angel. What we have is a former coke dealer who seeks to live his life vicariously through his son and acts inappropriately in public. And we are told to applaud this because it shows how much faith he has in the son’s abilities.

Welcome to the Bandwagon by Lee Jenkins

Jenkins writes about the excitement in Pittsburgh among baseball fans who haven’t seen a winning season in 20 years. This article includes numerous people who say they are huge fans, but admit to not following the team over the past two decades because they were hopeless. This makes me angry. If you are a fan, you follow you’re team. You can get frustrated. You can actively hate them. But you don’t stop paying attention. I am a fan of both the Knicks and Rangers. Both teams spent about a decade in the early 2000’s being horrible, both on the field and off it. But through the parade of terrible players and hatable characters, I still followed both teams closely. Because I am a fan. And that is what you do.

Point After by Steve Rushin

A column about Bobby Valentine’s new job as A-D at Sacred Heart. I liked it.